Pipsqueak
by nerdfightersunshine
Summary: Gajeel's father brought a new person to train with them but the last thing Gajeel expected was the tiny blonde in front of him.
1. Chapter 1

He rolled out of bed, ruffling his dark hair and went out to the kitchen where his father stood, leaning against the table. Gajeel grabbed his toast off of the counter and settled into his favorite seat with a smirk.

"What are you smirkin' at pipsqueak?" Metalicana raised a studded eyebrow at his small son. "And close your mouth when you eat. No one needs to see that."

Usually, he would mumble something under his breath but today, he let it go. Above all else, it was training day and he wasn't about to do something to make his father take it away from him. It was finally time to get training done without that obnoxious flame head and his pop. Today was training for iron dragons only. He was proud and ready. Quickly after eating, Gajeel ran to his room to get dressed and went outside to meet the old man.

"Alright old man, let's do this!" He slammed his fist into his palm and smiled. The smile quickly fell from his face when he saw his father talking to a blonde woman and a little blonde girl that came up to Gajeel's chest. Metalicana smirked at his son and motioned him over. "Layla, this is my son Gajeel. Gajeel, this is Layla Heartfilia and this young one is Lucy, her daughter. She will be training with us today."

He couldn't help his jaw dropping. "But, but Dad! You said-" Metalicana gave Gajeel a tight pinch. "Hey!"

"If you will excuse us ladies, I believe my son and I need to speak privately."

With a kind smile, Layla nodded. Lucy seemed like she was holding back laughter.

Metalicana pulled his son out of earshot. Before he could open his mouth, the smaller version of him spoke. "What the heck old man! You said -"

"I'm aware of what I said, but today Lucy needs to come with us." His son's eyes darkened.

"Like hell she does! How am I supposed to train around some prissy girl?"

"You will watch your mouth around her as well." Metalicana crossed his arms and looked down at his enraged son. "Lucy has not used her magic in fighting before. She needs our guidance. You will help me teach her."

"No!" He stomped his foot, but he knew what his father would say. If you cannot control your emotions, why should I listen to you? Gajeel took a deep breath and brushed a stray hair that escaped from his pony tail back from his face. "Pop, what if we took someone I could train with? You can even invite the fire breath! Please. You can train her another day."

His eyes were pleading and Metalicana could not help but sigh. "I'm sorry son. We will train together another day, but today, Lucy needs our help." He gave Gajeel a pat on the head and walked back to the blonde females. With a smile, he looked down to Lucy. "Are you ready little miss?"

With a large grin, showcasing her missing front tooth, Lucy straightened up. "Yes sir - I mean Mr. Metalicana. Absolutely. I will do my very best!"

He looked back to his son and then to the small girl before him. "I don't doubt that for a moment."

Within minutes, Metalicana led Lucy and Gajeel into the forest behind their home. Lucy looked to the young boy next to her. "Excuse me, Mr. Gajeel?"

With a roll of his eyes, he spoke. "What do you want punk?"

"Could you?" She nervously played with her hands. "Could you tell me what kind of magic you use?"

He stopped dead in his tracks, causing his father to look back for a moment before continuing on. Gajeel simply shook his head and kept walking. "What's your magic pipsqueak?"

"Well, I have the same magic as my momma." She said with a proud but small smile. "I'm a star mage."

"A star mage? What in the -"

Before he could finish, Metalicana shot a glare to silence him. "What I believe the little miss means is that she is a celestial mage. She works with spirits that are based on the stars."

Lucy gave a proud little mhm! "Thank you Mr. Metalicana. Though I hope that one day, I will be able to learn about other kinds of magic. Mr. Metalicana's magic is my favorite! He makes such pretty things."

Gajeel rolled his eyes once more. "Pretty?" He snorted. "Iron slayers don't do anything pretty pipsqueak."

Lucy's eyes met the ground. "Oh...well, but..." She looked up to his father's back. "One time, Mr. Metalicana made me a pretty star out of his metal. See?" She pulled a cord out of her shirt and attached to it was a tiny metal star, obviously a product of his father's magic. With a dismissive snort, Gajeel looked away and continued walking until they reached the clearing.

The two dragons trained the little mage until she was exhausted. Sweat dripped from her brow, causing her spirit to appear with a small water bottle for her.

"Great." Gajeel groaned. "Now, you have another slave."

Lucy was so surprised she spilled the water. Metalicana crossed over to his son. "That was uncalled for."

"Dad, it's true!" Before he could continue his reasoning, a slap resounded through the clearing. A small Lucy stood shaking before Gajeel, her red handprint on his cheek.

"They are not my slaves! My spirits are my friends." The spark in her eye left him taken aback for a moment, not to mention the strength in her slap. Silence filled the air. Metalicana cleared his throat. "Little miss, why don't you take a break? I believe it's time for me to train my son." With a small nod, Lucy sat on the rock and studied her hands as if they held the secrets to the world.

Soon enough, Gajeel was equally as exhausted and broken, lying on the grass by her feet. Metalicana had gone to get them snacks before their walk back home and the silence was deafening.

"Excuse me, Mr. Gajeel?" Her voice was so quiet it took him to realize it was her and not the wind.

His response bit like ice. "What?"

The awkward air sat between them for a moment and he finally hoped he had scared her away. "I'm sorry for slapping you." He was about to tell her she should be when she spoke up again. "I would never use my spirits like that. They are the only ones who have ever been around besides my parents. I would do anything for them. They are the only friends I have." Sadness filled her voice. "The house is so cold, and I just want to be able to play. I think that's why momma brought me here. She was, I think she was hoping we could be friends..." With a sigh, she replaced the small, and now as he realized, fake smile on her face once more. "It's okay though! I'm used to being by myself."

Most of the things she said didn't sink in with him until the last words left her mouth. That he understood. He was always alone, except for when his dad was home. Even then, it wasn't much like playing with other kids. Every now and then the flame brain would show up but he was so much of a pain that Gajeel didn't really consider him a kid. He was stuck in his own thoughts for a few moments until he realized, ahead of them in the clearing, snuck a fox getting ready to pounce on a rabbit. "Pipsqueak, close your eyes."

His voice broke her concentration and she became more alert. He let out a sigh. "Fine, you want to see a rabbit get ripped to shreads, the nightmares are on you."

"The rabbit will win."

He looked at her in surprise. "I knew you were weird pipsqueak, but didn't take you for a crazy person."

"I'm not crazy." As soon as she said it, the rabbit turned around and used its back feet to claw the fox's eyes. It escaped into the forest without a second thought. "Maybe you shouldn't make guesses without information." She spoke calmly and then leaned back onto the rock. Gajeel thought it over for a minute. This little thing was like a damn rabbit. She seemed innocent and harmless, but she took him down a peg, she demanded respect from his father, and if he was being honest - her magic was kind of cool. She appeared to be adorable but she had it in her to be vicious. It was this final step, the knowledge of rabbit violence apparently, that won his respect. "Come on bunny girl." He held out his hand to her. She cocked an eyebrow at him before hesitantly taking his hand. "What did you call me?"

"I called ya bunny girl. Now come on, I can hear pops yelling for us."

She gave him a kind smile as he pulled her up. She did her best to hide her surprise when he didn't let go of her hand as they walked home together.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to Dragonshost, Littleprincessnana and Leoslady4ever for encouraging my writing and always editing/helping me draft my pieces out. I love you all!**

* * *

Little did they know, their day of training would mark an important occasion. It began a tradition that would last for two years. Every Saturday, Lucy would go to visit the Redfox home and they would train until both children were exhausted. Each week, their parents exchanged looks that confused them. Both children spent their time trying to figure out what was going on but nothing would prepare them for the day Lucy's mother was no longer able to bring the young girl to visit.

It happened slowly. At first Layla wasn't able to keep up with her daughter and soon faltered behind the child's skip. In a few weeks time, she could no longer walk on her own. Though she had a cane, Gajeel's father would always offer his arm and bring her to her usual chair in the living room while they trained. Gajeel noticed that the longer Layla was ill, the darker the circles under Metalicana's eyes got. He wondered if whatever Layla had was contagious because both of their parents seemed to be fading fast.

A few weeks later, Gajeel shot up from his bed drenched in sweat. His hair was plastered to his forehead and it took a few minutes for him to catch his breath. He tried to go back to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes all he could see was the fires of his village being burnt to the ground. A woman's voice told him to run and not look back. He did what he was told, but nothing stopped the sound of the magic that killed her from penetrating his ears. It echoed still in his mind all these years later.

With a shaky breath, Gajeel swung his legs over the bed to meet the cool floor. He looked up to his calendar and smirked. It was Saturday, the day that could chase any of his fears away. Soon, Lucy and Layla would come to the house. Grabbing fruit off of the counter, Gajeel rushed outside and sat on the steps to wait. The sun beat down on him, refusing to let up while he stared at the gate in front of their home. His eyes were trained on it, waiting for even the hint of blonde hair to appear. The sun burned brightly above him before his father came to sit beside him. He placed a hand on his son's hand, and silently shook his head. It only took one look at his father's tear stained face to realize that he would never see the women who made the two men smile again.

* * *

The time that they were apart made Gajeel cold and angry. He spent all of his time fighting other kids and the only one who got any of his attention was his old man. Hell, he thought he was miserable before but it was nothing compared to the ache in his chest when she was gone. No, now he was truly alone and for four years, he refused to be anything else. That all changed on his first day at his new school.

He walked into the school grounds, snarling at anyone who ever dared look his way. He didn't care what anyone thought of him. He was the iron dragon slayer and if they had something to say about it, he would beat the words out of their heads. His rage gave him tunnel vision; that was until he saw a very familiar blonde ponytail. He stopped dead in his tracks. There was no way it was possible. Someone had to just have the same hair. He hadn't heard from her and no matter what he did, he couldn't track her down. Could it be possible that she was here?

The sudden lack of motion caught her attention. For a moment, their eyes met. That was all it took before she slammed into his body, wrapping her arms tightly around his stomach. It didn't take dragon senses to realize she was sniffling. "Gajeel, is that really you?" All he could manage was a pitiful nod.

* * *

Four years later...

His father opened the door and Gajeel knew her voice instantly. "Hi Mr. Metalicana."

"How many times must I tell you to call me Metalicana little miss?" He walked around the corner to see his father pulling Lucy into a hug. At the noise, her face shot up to see his. "Hey Gaj!"

He gave her his typical smirk, reserved for her eyes only. "What's up bunny girl?"

"Well," she said, smiling in a way that almost stopped his heart, "I came to pick up my extremely lazy best friend who is going to be late for school."

Gajeel reached down for his backpack and threw it over one shoulder. "Yeah yeah, let's go." She let out a giggle only to be poked in the side. "And I ain't lazy."

They left behind a smiling Metalicana.

On their walk to his car, Gajeel caught a glint of silver from the corner of his eye. It only took a moment for him to realize what it was. As they settled into their seats and he began to drive, his curiosity got the best of him. "Bunny girl, why do you still wear that rusty thing?"

"What rusty thing? Oh!" She looked down and pulled the necklace into her hand. "This?" He gave a small nod. "Because your dad gave it to me! I wasn't joking when I said that I loved his magic."

"Ya know." Gajeel grumbled. "It's not only his magic."

Her eyes studied his face for a moment. She crossed her arms and began to smirk, close enough that it could rival Gajeel's himself. "Are you jealous? Of your father?"

"Whatever bunny." Though she could see a light dusting on his cheeks from being called out. "Anyways, we still going out tonight or what?"

"Of course. I'll see you then."

"Wait a sec." He grabbed her hand, and she returned to the car.

"What's up? Are you okay?" She watched his face for any signs of lies.

He slipped his calloused hand around the chain on her neck and pulled it from within her shirt. He placed the small star in his hand and closed his eyes. His magic made the air thick. It would feel suffocating for most people, but for her, it felt as though she could finally breathe. When he placed the necklace back, it now had a black dragon with red eyes hanging next to the star. "There. Now at least you have some decent work on it."

She smiled gently and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you. I'll see you tonight."

* * *

All of the air left his lungs the second he saw her. Her hair was down, curling around her shoulders. She wore a tan sweater with a low enough cut to erase anyone's doubt of her gender. Her dark blue jeans fit her like a second skin and her strappy black heels made her come up to his chin. Lightly sitting on her neck was the silver chain and sitting on it was a star and dragon. He wasn't sure why but it made his pride expand at the sight of it. He should have worn something nicer. Not that he owned anything nicer than the black tee and cargo pants he currently wore. His mental attack of himself and his status was cut short when they reached the box office. He bought their tickets and offered her his arm. With a smile that put the stars she so loved to shame, she reached for his arm only to stop short. "Bunny?"

"Oh no!"

He studied her face. "What is it?"

"I forgot something in the car!"

He raised his eyebrow. "It's not like we aren't going back there after the film."

"No! No I need it now." Her eyes screamed that she was hiding something but if he learned anything about the blonde before him, it was that she was just as stubborn as he was. "Can I have the keys please? I'll be right back!"

He dug around in his cargo pants and offered her the keys in his pocket. "Thanks! Be right back." She turned around leaving a very confused dragon slayer in her wake. He decided her absence was exactly what he needed to figure out how he was going to do this. This wasn't just any date. It wasn't like the girls who drooled over him because of his reputation. No, this was Lucy and he had to do everything right.

She reached under her seat and pulled out a small bag. With a sigh of relief, she smiled. "Good, I don't know what I'd do if I lost it."

From behind her came a whistle, followed by a raspy voice. "Don't worry gorgeous, you won't lose me." Lucy tried to spin around but an arm grabbed her around the neck. "If you stay nice and quiet, I won't hurt ya...much." His arm squeezed tighter, making dots dance across Lucy's vision. She remembered the trick Gajeel taught her in case of an emergency. She slammed her heel down as hard as she could, causing the man to yell and stumble back. Lucy spun on her heel, slamming her fist into his temple. He would have landed square on the concrete had a larger man not thrown another punch into the man's stomach. When she was sure that her attacker was knocked out cold, her eyes searched for the man who assisted her only to meet a very familiar pair of red eyes. His hand reached behind her waist and pulled her into a tight hug. "Ya did good, bunny."

Her shaking hands wrapped around him. They took a moment to calm their breath. "Come on," his voice rumbled in her ear. "Let's go home." He looked down at her with a smirk. "The old man will love to hear how you kicked his ass."

The drive home was deafening but when they arrived at his home, neither one moved. Lucy fiddled with a small fabric bag, before clearing her throat. "This is for you." He raised an eyebrow as she shyly held it out for him. He opened the bag and out slipped a chain necklace. Hanging from it sat a dark metal dragon, curled around a circle. Within the circle sat the night sky. "I mean, it's not as good as my dragon," she fiddled with the dragon that sat on her neck, "but I wanted you to have a way to have my magic with you too."

His heart damn near stopped. She cared enough to want him to have her with him? She stared out the window clearly embarrassed when he slid the chain over his neck. She reached for the door handle only to feel his hand on her shoulder. When she turned, his rough hand slid behind her neck. He placed a chaste kiss on her lips before mumbling, "thanks bunny." They sat with their foreheads touching, chocolate meeting crimson for what seemed like forever until she gave him a silent nod. He got out of the car and met her at her door. When they got into his room, a room they spent so much time in, the awkward question hung in the air, pressing down on them. He shook his head and turned to change. In moments, he stood before her shirtless with only his blue plaid pajama pants hanging from his pierced hips. He approached her with her favorite shirt of his for her to wear to sleep, but found she was once again burning a hole in his floor. Her mind was spinning. Didn't he just kiss her? Lucy thought tonight may be the night where they finally moved beyond being best friends who occasionally kissed. Did that disgusting pervert taint her for him? Her vision began to blur when she tried to calm her breath. He tucked a finger under her chin, lifting it to meet their gaze. "Bunny?"

Tear filled eyes met his. "Don't you… don't you want me anymore?" That question damn near broke his heart. He pulled her in for another kiss. When they broke apart, panting, he kissed her forehead lightly.

"It's not possible for me to stop wanting you."

"Then why don't you want to?"

"You've had a rough night bunny girl. As much as you may think this is what you want right now, I'm not the kind of man to make rushed decisions. Tonight, let's rest. We have as long as we want for anything else." They settled into bed, her back pressed against his chest. Before long, her breathing evened out. He spent the entire night curled around her, as if to protect her from any memories of that bastard. With a light kiss to the top of her hair, he whispered, "I love you, bunny."


	3. Chapter 3

The buzzing of the hospital lights made his ears burn. His head fell into his hands, trying to think of a way to get back into the room with his wife. It didn't take long for Gajeel to ask his Bunny to be his, but like hell if Metalicana wasn't giving him shit for it for years before. It was like the old geezer knew something they didn't. Eventually, the two married in the clearing they always trained in, surrounded by the few closest people in their lives. That had been almost six years ago. With a sigh, his hand slid around the dragon on his necklace. He squeezed it lightly and whispered, "Bunny, you can do this."

He smelled the other person before they spoke - charcoal. He lifted his head from his hands. "What the hell are you doing here, flame brain?" He looked around Natsu, as if searching. "Ya know the purpose of babysitting is to actually watch the kid."

Normally Natsu would make some snide remark but he could see the worry defining the creases around Gajeel's eyes. "Relax. Layla is at home with Juvia and the kids. They were building a pillow fort when I left." Gajeel smiled ever so slightly. Of course they were. Layla loved anything with her imagination. She was just like her mother in that way. Hell, Layla was a lot like Lucy. She had her brains too, especially for a five year old. He would bet his money that his little girl was making his friends twins build a castle, ready to go to war. She was a natural born leader, that kid. His thoughts were torn from his daughter as the bench creaked. He could feel Natsu staring at him.

Gajeel ran a shaking hand through his hair. "They kicked me out." Natsu raised an eyebrow, surprised that his friend would simply leave his mate. As if reading his thoughts, Gajeel snorted. "Hell no. It took four of them to physically pull me out. I would have gone right back in too, but the doctor told me.." He sighed. "I was risking her life by distracting them." He stared at the doors before him. "What's so fucking difficult? They made sure everything went fine when Layla was born. Why's my son any damn different? I swear on the stars, if those fuckers don't do their job…"

Natsu rested his hand on his friends back. "She'll be alright. You know how hard Luce fights." Footsteps approached from behind the door. Natsu stood. "I'll take care of your princess for ya. You just make sure Luce kicks ass and you bring her baby brother home, got it?"

"Like you need to tell me." With that, Natsu left and the doctor emerged from the doors ahead.

"Mr. Redfox?" The man stood awkwardly before the towering slayer.

"Just spit it out. Can I see her yet?"

The doctor shook his head. "Mr. Redfox, if you would please have a seat." Gajeel did not move an inch. With a sigh, the doctor began again. "First of all, congratulations. You have a healthy baby boy." A day ago, Gajeel would have been on cloud nine at the news, but now - no, there was something else coming and he knew he wouldn't like it.

"What's the next part?" He grunted.

"We have done everything we can for his mother. Unfortunately, she is fading quickly. I'm sorry, I'm not sure if your wife will make it. You can go in to say- "

His world stopped. It was all Gajeel could do to keep himself breathing. The doctor kept speaking but he was no longer listening. He walked forward, his legs numb, and opened the door. There, lying on the bed, was a pale Lucy with wires coming from every part of her. It took all of his strength to keep his muscles moving until he reached her side. He collapsed, hitting his knees on the tile, by her side. He took her hand into his, pressing his forehead to her small hand.

"Don't you dare leave me Bunny." A sob caught in his throat. "Lucy, you can't… Layla needs you. I need you." He was shaking now. "Bunnies are…" he tried to take a breath but no matter what he did, his lungs felt like they were drowning. "Bunnies are strong remember? You told me that, show me Bunny. I can't, I can't do this." His face was soaked with tears as he gripped her small hand. "Dragons aren't strong, Lucy. Everyone thinks they are but they just intimidate people. I can't, not without you." He sat for what seemed like hours sobbing by her side, the whole time feeling his mate weaken next to him. "I don't know how. Don't make me. Please Lucy, please don't make me." His chest felt heavy, destroyed. For some reason, all he could see was his father's eyes the day they lost Lucy's mother. "Damn it Lucy!" He punched his leg. "No, I won't fucking do this! You're too damn strong for this. You've dealt with my shit since we were kids. I will not fucking give you up, so god damn it Bunny, fight. Claw the damn fox's eyes out. Layla needs you. Our son needs you. Hell, if something happens to you, I'm naming the kid. You trust me with that shit? I know you don't." If he felt like he could, he would have smirked at the memories of their fights over baby names. For some reason, his wife felt metal head wasn't an appropriate name for his son. He took a shaky breath and lifted his necklace off of his head to place it around her neck. She had to remove all jewelry when she went into labor, but she looked wrong without a dragon around her. With that, he crawled next to her in the bed and sobbed into her hair. "I'm -" he took in a ragged breath, "I'm not leaving this damn bed until you open your eyes." He kissed her hair. With that he felt a pulse against his mating mark. "What the -"

He looked down to see the small circle on the necklace glowing around her neck. The small nighttime sky turned black and the spot on her chest under the necklace began to glow. It wasn't until Gajeel felt a shift beneath him that he realized something had happened. "Lucy?" He looked up to see her looking down at him.

She gave a small, weak smile. "You are not naming our child." Her voice was rough, but it was hers. Gajeel took her in his arms tightly and kissed her head over and over again. "I thought I lost you."

"Gaj?" Her voice was tight and he looked up instantly.

"Yeah Bunny?"

"Could you get the doctor?"

Duh, why the hell hadn't he realized. "Of course." He placed one more quick kiss on her lips and left the room.

* * *

The next day, Gajeel sat behind Lucy in her hospital bed as she held their son. He couldn't get enough of having his skin touch hers, to remind him that she was okay. It was that moment that the door opened and a gorgeous little dark haired girl ran in. "Momma! Daddy!"

Gajeel slid an arm down and pulled his daughter into the bed. "Hey pipsqueak." He gave her a kiss on the head. "How was your uncle's house?"

"Good! I made a castle and I asked Uncle Natsu why there was a burn mark on Auntie Juvia's new couch, then it started raining inside!" Gajeel let a chuckle slip, before Lucy nudged him lightly. "Then grampy came to pick me up and now we're here. Is this the new baby?!"

Lucy slipped her arm around her daughter. "Yes, my love. This is your little brother." Gajeel looked up when the door opened to the room again, revealing his father. Their eyes met for a brief moment but it was all it took for them to understand each other. With a kiss to his girls and his new son, Gajeel left the room knowing his father would follow him.

He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know how you did it. Honestly, the thought was suffocating and the idea of looking into Layla's eyes every day and be reminded of that loss…" Gajeel shook his head. "I really can't imagine seeing her spitting image every day and living on. Smiling seemed damn near impossible, so I really can't wrap my brain around it but thank you." Crimson eyes met crimson. "Thank you for being strong so I could have her in my life." With that, he gave his father a tight hug. He saw tears in his old man's eyes but decided not to say something as he wiped it away.

"So." Metalicana cleared his throat. "What's the kids name?"

Gajeel grinned.

* * *

This story was based on Tim McGraw's Don't Take the Girl. Thank you all for staying with me until the end. Thank you above all to leoslady4ever and LittlePrincessNana for helping me through any bumps in the road for this, like all of my stories. Love you both!


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